Low shoulders and long necks are the same. Dia. IX shows the correct
alteration for such forms as well as for the stooping form. The body
between the arm and neck becomes longer than usual, and consequently the
coat must be lengthened on each back and front alike. Attempting to cut
the shoulders lower at the arm will never lift the coat up to the neck.
If that alteration is correctly made no other portion is to be altered.
All allowance for a longer neck should be given sparingly, as ¼ in. on
each back and each front goes a great ways; only extremes may require
more, and from ⅜ to ½ in. may be called correct for the average long
neck. The front of the neck hole should not be raised on a long neck, for
the very length of neck requires extra depth there. Addition for a longer
neck should be started at the middle of the shoulder seam, as indicated
by dotted lines in Dia. IX.
Raising the side of the back up higher requires the center of the back
higher also, all of which may be run out to nothing at the sleeve base.
Adding say ½ in. to the top of the neck will make the shoulder look
broader, that is, the shoulder on top of the slope will contain more
space from arm to neck, though the diameter of the shoulders from side to
side may not be any larger. The armhole must be considered the same for
all long or short necks, and the changes must be made upward, and above
the armhole, as shown in Dia. IX, and if that is correct, the so-called
“front shoulder point” exists in the imagination of each individual
cutter only.
If the shoulders and the neck of all men were formed the same, there
would be very little trouble to fit coats. But the longer, or shorter,
or forward or backward leaning neck play smash with the fitting points.
All kinds of imaginary proof measures have been invented, but they all
will prove that they are not proof, unless the measure is a straight one,
either horizontal, or perpendicular, or parallel. The proof measure, as
shown in Fig. I, and which consists of the application of the angle of
135 deg., is a new measure, of my own invention, and it will do away with
all the so-called long or short balance measures which have been used for
the last century.
When I say give so and so much more for a long neck, I mean so much more
than what is shown in Dia. II, all of which may be divided between the
forepart and the back, but so that the top of back is never less than
2½ in. wide. I will repeat here that a long neck not only requires the
shoulder straps longer, but the top and the side of the back must be cut
closer toward the center, gradually running out at the front. If the
shoulder seam has 1 in. spring, that is, ½ to ⅝ more than Dia. II, the
top of back may be placed at 2½ and the side of neck at 3, and this will
make a good proportion for the average long neck. So far I have found
in my practice, that very few cases require more. The worst case I ever
found was fitted with 1⅝ spring allowed on the forepart, with top of
back at 2¼ and side of neck at 2¾, and I do not think that there is any
shoulder which requires more. In all cases the collar must be sewed on
easy, on each “_side of the neck_” not behind.
But here I will give another idea of fitting a long and straight neck: At
the center of the back and from the back sleeve base upward, go outside
of the base and allow say ½ in. “extra,” and at the same time allow ½ in.
on top of back and at the side of neck. The ½ inch extra allowance on the
back may again be reduced from the front of neck downward, but this is
of little consequence, for if not cut off, the lapel and the breast will
simply be that much larger, which is mostly a “_good fault_” for such a
coat, and may often be quite necessary, as all such forms are mostly full
breasted. If for any cause, the top of back and side of neck are placed
closer toward the center, do not drop the front of the neck hole, because
the extra spring at the shoulder seam will produce all extra length
required.
The low and the high shoulders may be considered very indefinite terms,
and a cutter must learn to use his judgment as to what each particular
customer requires, but for the reason that Dia. II will fit at least 49
out of 50 persons, all changes must be made with great caution, because
the actual shoulder is not to be fitted at all, and if anybody attempts
to do this, he must cut low shoulders for most all, and the majority he
will have to alter, more or less.
About a year ago, while at church on a Sunday, I noticed a man who sat
in front of me; he wears different coats according to the weather. Two
of such coats fit him as good as any can be made, but one coat makes
him low shouldered while the other gives him the appearance of a square
shoulder. The square shoulder coat don’t fit as close around the arm as
the one with the low shoulder, but the square shoulder hangs good, sleeve
included, and no one will ask anything better. Any cutter can satisfy
himself on that point by trying on different good fitting coats, on the
same person, and by doing so he will soon find that a solid measure
around the arm and shoulder, or a so-called “_Balance Measure_” is one of
the greatest delusions the Nineteenth century has brought forth, in so
far as fitting garments is concerned.
But I must point to another reason why a coat can be fitted to the same
person with either a square or a sloping shoulder. A coat cut too high
up at the back and at the side of the neck will have the appearance of a
lower shoulder, because the coat starts higher up. At the present time
the style for the shoulders is toward a square shoulder, and I think that
will be the style for some time to come. Looking back to continental
styles and pictures, we find all coats high up at the back and at the
side of the neck, and consequently all are represented as low shoulders.
In fitting clothing according to the present style, a cutter must see,
though he is compelled to cut a coat for a long neck higher than usual,
that it gets not too high, but as low as possible for that purpose, and
cutters who are not _above trying on_ will often find it to advantage to
change the height of the collar a trifle, thought the fit may be the same
for all. This is another point which cannot be learned by rules, or from
books, or in cutting schools, but must be acquired by practice, after a
cutter’s mind has been directed to it, and his mind must be clear always,
and never be benumbed by whisky, or by tobacco, nor by fast women.
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